Abstract:

Special Education Needs and Disability (SEND) is a conscious and deliberate plan to include people with disabilities (PWDs) and other forms of special needs among those who benefit from education in line with Goals 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs) universal plan to end poverty and hunger by 2030 which pledges to leave no one behind (DFID Framework, 2015). Nigeria has signed and ratified several international compacts in support of SEND policy and implementation, but has only recently provided the appropriate policy framework for special needs populations. This study, funded by DFID under the EDOREN programme, reveals that the policy development and implementation processes of several policies have not been effective in achieving the desired and intended outcomes for SEND populations from pre-school to university levels. The research took place in Anambra and Kaduna state, which the researchers determined to be suitable representative cases for the situation in most Nigerian states in general. Further results were obtained from a previous scoping study at the federal level. It was found that Nigeria lacks the capacity and number of technical personnel to drive implementation of SEND policies, both at the federal and state levels. This is exacerbated by an absence of data on SNE-learners such as proportions and types; the lack of and adapted curriculum; and lack of expertise at the Federal Ministry of Education for coordinating with other relevant organisations, agencies, and the states This report contains (i) the final consolidated report, (ii) the federal level report, (iii) the Anambra state report, and (iv) the Kaduna state report.